Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Thrifty, thrifty, fifty four! Couldn't work out that card anymore!

My mathematical ineptitude tends to pop up in a lot of my catchphrases: "Math ain't my strong suit!" "Well, I never was a math teacher." "Yes, Renee, you are very good at math." (Just in case you didn't get the point, my mathematical skills basically petered out after highschool Algebra II.) But you'd think I'd still be able to do basic addition and subtraction and figure out my checking account balance, yeah?

Wrong!

I decided to do some thrifting with my sister these past few days, and I kept myself to a budget of about $50 based on some calculations I made in my checkbook. This was based on the assumption that I would run my account down to $5 (unusually low for me), but it wouldn't be a big deal, since I've been working constantly and get paid this Thursday. So imagine my surprise when, after a truly fantastic bout of thrifting and drive thru-ing, the cashier at Arby's informed me that my credit card was "at its limit" and I therefore owed her $0.58. I coughed up three quarters, then skuttled over to the bank (which was thankfully right next door) and found out that...well, I'd been off. It was only by $7, but that was enough to drop my total balance down to $0.02. The problem's been fixed, and I got some awesome stuff out of the embarrassment, but yeesh, I've never had a negative account balance!

I blame thrifting. And Christmas gifts. And the money I've been setting aside in savings. (Savings, pfft! Who does that?)

Anywhere, here's some of the lurvely new stuff I got over the past 2 days!

This first group of stuff was a happy accident: my sister wanted to get a pair of sunglasses from Hot Topic, but failed to tell me that they were only going to be on sale until the end of the day. We ended up at the mall a mere hour before closing time and wandered past a Pac Sun that's currently liquidating. My sister wanted to stop in, and I was initially hesistant. I learned at a very early age that Pac Sun is generally not my style, especially since my style rarely costs more than $10 an item. You would think that thrifting would've taught me better!

The two tops were $10 each. The first is a lace button-up for layering, which was on my list of "things to hunt for whilst thrifting" (and I'll post that list as it stands down below). The second is a sheer navy star-print with a cage back and collar that ties at the bottom...I'm starting to realize I'm really in to tying up my clothes. The $5 skirt is a short denim piece that's made to look 80s-esque and has a lot of stretch. I normally don't wear shorter skirts, but I thought this would be a great basic piece to pair with leggings.

Today, we scuttled off to the local Salvation Army, which is currently my favorite thrift store, whereas my sister prefers Goodwill. Let me go on a tangent and explain the logic here: our Goodwill has very regular prices (ie, pretty much every skirt is $3, every t-shirt is $4, etc., unless they're leather or something fancy like that) and tends to have a lot of "every day stuff," including overstock from local retailers like Target. The prices at Salvation Army are, by contrast, very inconsistent, with some pieces retailing at $1 before half-off sales and others costing a whopping (by thrifting standards) $35. Salvo also tends to have a waaaaay more diverse, eclectic selection of stuff for a variety of reasons. Goodwill appeals more to my sister because she tends to prefer more basic, everyday items that retail at a regularly low price, whereas I prefer a lot of the whackadoo stuff that is maybe worth an extra $5 or is available for $0.50 today and today only.

This jacket is a great example of how awesome Salvo is for me. Goodwill is super-duper well-organized and has a special leather section, but unfortunately, I found most of these pieces overpriced (remember, I'm in a thrift store!), and because they were specially marked off with a big "LEATHER" sign, they were very picked over. Leather in Salvo, however, is scattered around and potentially half-price. And since today was "half off all yellow tags," I got this amazing late 90s leather jacket for just $6. FIND. OF. THE. MONTH!!! And while my sister was turned off by the three or four very teeny tiny "discoloration" spots on the back of the jacket, I think they add to the "oldness" of the coat, which I love!

I found a few other cool pieces at Salvo. The first is a long plaid skirt, which mostly crosses another item off of my list. I would still love to find a super-soft cotton flannel that I could knot up on one side, cause I'm weird like that. But this one is still great, and it actually opens up on the side when I walk or sit down, which'll look great with boots! It was $10 originally, but had a yellow tag, so I paid $5. The Lady Gaga shirt was hiding in the men's section and cost me a whopping $2. (And yes, I'm a Gaga fan. Take my street cred! I need it not!)

Even though Goodwill doesn't tend to produce the treasures that Salvo does, I still found some fun pieces. I got a long, plain black t-shirt that I plain to doodle on with a bleach pen, plus an amazing Pac-Man t-shirt. I also got an authentic Ed Hardy tank top that is probably not the most flattering thing I could wear with my body type, but I love the artwork and the corseting detail on the shoulder, and for $3, I couldn't pass it up. (Yes, I also like a lot of Ed Hardy stuff. No street cred, none at all.)

I'm still a little iffy about the plaid tie-up shirt I got for $4, since it hits JUST about my hip when it's tied and can therefore make my hippy-curvy self look a bit wide, but eh. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it! And the hat was a Target clearance item I scored for $2. They also had 2 in black, which I would've preferred, but they'd been trampled on and dirtied-up. The quest continues for the perfect huge black hat. :( Lastly, I grabbed some belts for a craft project I'm planning, I got 4 for $4. My sister found a $4 purse she loved and a $1 Lucky Brand wallet shoved at the bottom of a box, and I got those for her without hesitation.

I also got 2 new beauty items in the mail! Nothing too exciting, as I'm focusing primarily on wardrobe right now and I think my makeup stash is at its saturation point. I swapped my $20 Sephora VIB gift card for a $10 Beauty.com coupon and got a Lipstick Queen lipstick in Pink Sinner and a full size of the stupendous Anastasia Clear Brow Gel.

It's clear that I have a lot more luck with my "tops and skirts" wishlist than I do with my "pants" wishlist, probably because I am so picky, short, and curvy-swervy (in relation to my shortness). Regardless, I think I managed to score a lot of stand-out basics for a stupidly awesome price.

One final Ode to Today's Thrifting (and a smidge of a bribe to get you tofollow me on Instagram): these were so odiously tacky and wondrous that I almost wept when they were three sizes too small for me. Sigh.

Things To Hunt For Whilst Thrifting

as of December 11, 2012:

a plain black blazer that doesn't make me look like a Golden Girl.

leather pants or shorts.

just leather. A11 teh 1eathurz!!1!one

a big, black hat.

a long plaid skirt--softer and maybe less "formal" than the Salvo one.

If you would like to borrow any of my content, please credit and link back to my blog. If I have utilized your work and you would like me to remove it from my blog, feel free to contact me.Contact: BadOutfitGreatLipstick (at) Gmail